he small cultivators; but Sufder now bought him
clothes such as were worn by youths of a superior class. Soyera had
offered no objection to his departure and, indeed, Sufder had
spoken to her on the subject, before he had broached it to Harry.

"'Tis hard upon me to give you up," she said to the lad; "but I
have always known that it must be so, and indeed, for the last year
I have seen little of you. The change will be good for you. You
will learn the manner of war, and take an interest in the intrigues
and troubles that are constantly going on, and of which we hear
little.

"When you rejoin your countrymen, a few years hence, I shall go
with you. You need my testimony, to show that you are the son of
Major Lindsay; and I can be useful to you, in managing your
household. But at present it is best that I should stay here. A
young soldier would not care to have his mother looking after him,
and it is for your good that you should go your own way; and
besides, you will have the counsels of Sufder to aid you. I should
be out of place and, for the present, I am happy here with my good
brother and sister-in-law, the latter of whom would miss me sorely.
Moreover, Poona is but two days' ride from here, and you will no
doubt be able sometimes to come over and see us.

"I have done what little I could for you. You are now old enough to
make your own way. The bird that has taught its nestling to fly
does not try to keep it in the nest, when it is once able to take
care of itself."

"I can never be sufficiently grateful, for all that you have done
for me," Harry said earnestly. "You have been more than a mother to
me and, wherever I go, I shall not be happy unless you are with me,
though I see it is best, this time, that I should go alone; but
assuredly, when I join my people, and have a home of my own, it
would not seem like a home to me if you did not share it."

Two days later, Harry mounted a horse that Ramdass had given him,
and started with Sufder for Poona. On arriving there they rode to
the little camp, half a mile out of the town, where Sufder's troop
was stationed.

"You don't carry your tents with you, when you are on service in
the field?"

"Not when on an expedition where haste is needed; for we should
make but poor progress, if we were hampered by luggage. When on a
distant expedition, we take tents.

"This is a standing camp, and there are a score like it round the
town. They always remain in the same pos